A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 441

The Baseball Team’s New Recruit Is Too Good 441

The Baseball Team’s New Recruit Is Too Good 441

95 Spring Comes Like That (2)

During the preparation for this exhibition game, an English expression kept popping up in Ji-seop’s head.

The very expression that Tampa Bay colleagues and Yankees staff frequently used.

-As you all know, the birds are coming, so…

-The birds are coming. Everyone, stay sharp!

-That’s right. It’s the season when the birds are flying in, so I think we need to consider that aspect as well…

Birds are coming.

Birds are coming.

Ji-seop was quite confident in his English skills, but he couldn’t help but tilt his head when he heard this expression.

Of course, he understood it to some extent from the context. He could roughly interpret it as meaning ‘the exhibition game is approaching’.

But he was curious. Why express it as birds coming? What do exhibition games have to do with birds?

The person who provided the answer to that question was Ji-seop’s right-hand man, David Wilson.

-Ah, the birds they’re talking about are snowbirds.

-Snowbirds? Snowbirds?

So, someone who’s clueless… that?

At this point, Ji-seop glanced at John LaMar, but of course, it didn’t seem to be the meaning Ji-seop was thinking of.

-Yes, it’s not like there’s a real bird called a snowbird.

David continued.

-Originally, it was a term for elderly people who come to Florida to escape the cold winter weather. But it seems the meaning has shifted a bit as it’s been adopted in our industry.

In Major League Baseball, snowbirds refer to baseball fans who visit spring training to watch exhibition games.

People who enjoy the warm weather of Florida or Arizona while satisfying their baseball cravings that have built up over the winter.

Naturally, they have a burning passion for baseball, spend a lot of money, and are therefore customers that the team can’t afford to miss.

-So, instead of saying the exhibition game is approaching, they often use the expression ‘the birds are flying in’.

David shrugged.

-Wouldn’t that make you nervous? Imagine baseball fanatics fluttering in.

-Haha, I see. I learned something new thanks to David.

This is how Ji-seop learned about snowbirds.

Thanks to that, he understood the joke that Brian Spahn, the general manager, made on the morning of the exhibition game.

“Kim, good morning!”

That was the general manager’s greeting, delivered with a bright expression.

“There’s a lot of flapping around Charlotte Sports Park… How’s the preparation going?”

“Ah, flapping?”

At this point, Ji-seop didn’t ask, ‘What does that mean?’

He simply looked at the crowds flocking in like clouds and gave a slight smile.

“Yes, the preparation is perfect.”

And then, he added one more thing.

“I am confident that this spring… our Charlotte Sports Park will be considered the best ‘nest’.”

* * *

The reason Ji-seop visited Brian Spahn, the general manager, that day was to report on the preparation status of the ‘visiting team merchandise shop’.

Since it was a facility rarely seen in Major League Baseball, the general manager was showing great interest.

“With the help of Special Assistant to the General Manager Nicholas Byner, the preparation of the merchandise shop has proceeded smoothly.”

Ji-seop showed the general manager the tablet PC he had brought.

“The size is a bit small, but the internal layout is almost identical to the merchandise shop at Yankee Stadium. We have also tried to make the selection of products as diverse as possible.”

“Oh ho.”

A subtle smile appeared on the general manager’s face as he examined the list of products.

“You’ve also prepared a game preview magazine? I didn’t even think of that.”

Game preview magazine.

Or a game book.

A kind of guidebook that each Major League Baseball team prepares and sells in advance.

Reading material containing the day’s game entry, expected lineup, player interviews, and points to watch.

When the general manager mentioned this ‘game book’, a slightly proud expression appeared on Ji-seop’s face.

“Yes, that’s an item I specially requested from the Yankees’ special assistant to the general manager. I thought it would be a good gift for Yankees fans living in Florida.”

Ji-seop’s eyes sparkled slightly.

“Originally, I heard that game books are mainly available during the regular season, and only at the home stadium. In other words, Yankees fans living in Florida can’t easily get their hands on it, right?”

“Ah, so that’s why you called it a gift. Because it means you’re selling something here that you can’t get unless you go all the way to Yankee Stadium?”

The general manager nodded.

“This alone is enough to guess how much preparation the Future Strategy Planning Department has done. You’ve really worked hard.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

As Ji-seop smiled slightly, the general manager turned the tablet PC back and asked.

“So, what’s Kim’s schedule for today? I heard that David is in charge of analyzing the game.”

“Yes, I was planning to check out the visiting team merchandise shop today. Since it’s the first day of business…”

“Ah, is that so?”

It was at this moment that the general manager turned his gaze to the work status chart on the wall of his office.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at the list of employees who had come to Charlotte Sports Park that day, and then said.

“Kim, you know Jamie and Dylan, right?”

“Yes, aren’t they the assistant directors in the marketing department? I received some help from them while preparing the merchandise shop this time…”

“That’s good. I’ll ask them to support the visiting team merchandise shop. Instead…”

The general manager’s gaze returned to Ji-seop.

“I’d like Kim to take on another urgent task today.”

“An urgent task?”

“That’s right. It’s something that the Future Strategy Planning Department should handle. Especially something that only a deputy head can handle. And above all…”

Swoosh.

The corners of the general manager’s lips were rising ever so slightly.

“If Kim is interested in the Tampa Bay Rays’ new stadium construction project, it’s something you must successfully complete.”

* * *

The task that Brian Spahn, the general manager, entrusted to Ji-seop that day was none other than VIP escort.

The job of guiding key figures who visited Charlotte Sports Park through the stadium facilities and ensuring they could comfortably watch the game.

And the key figure that Ji-seop was in charge of that day, the VIP, was a city councilor from St. Petersburg.

The person who held the decision-making power in her hands: whether to allow the Tampa Bay Rays to build a new stadium or not. And if allowed, how much public funding to provide.

“Her name is Dana Sears. She’s a first-term councilor from the 9th district of St. Petersburg.”

Ji-seop, who had returned to the Future Strategy Planning Department, was conveying the general manager’s instructions to his colleagues.

Inside, he was wryly smiling at the fact that words like ‘9th district’ and ‘first-term councilor’ were coming out of his mouth.

“I got a rough explanation from the general manager, but I’m completely clueless when it comes to politics…”

Ji-seop turned his gaze to Charles Fleck.

“Charles, do you happen to know anything? I heard that we have quite an awkward relationship with her.”

“Hmm, Sears from the 9th district is well-known. First of all, she’s the youngest female councilor in St. Petersburg history.”

Charles Fleck had been thoroughly examining the local political figures from the day he joined Tampa Bay.

He seemed to know the city councilors of St. Petersburg very well.

“I heard she’s a very meticulous person, like a typical young politician. She’s a principled person who doesn’t tolerate tricks. In particular, she seems to have an allergic reaction to carelessly spending the budget.”

“I’ve heard her name a few times too. Whenever my father and the general manager drink together, that name always comes up.”

John LaMar chimed in.

“My father grinds his teeth whenever the story of Sears comes up. What did he say? He just shouted, ‘Tampa Bay is a tax-eating hippo!’ right in their faces, I think?”

“Wow, that’s quite harsh wording.”

Ji-seop scratched his chin.

“If she’s such a hostile person, shouldn’t we just ignore her? It seems like she sees the baseball team itself as a waste of budget…”

“No, Kim. You can’t just divide people into ‘my side’ and ‘your side’. That’s how things that could be done don’t get done.”

You have to persuade them.

You have to bring them to our side.

Charles Fleck continued.

“And didn’t Sears suddenly express her intention to visit this morning? I see that as a slightly positive signal.”

“Is that so?”

“There’s a reason for every action of politicians. Even if it looks like a ridiculous act on the surface, there’s a thorough calculation underneath.”

It was added that Councilor Dana Sears may have recently grasped the movements of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Following the World Series victory last season, they are forming a clear rivalry with the Yankees this season.

Tampa Bay is changing, and the number of spectators at Tropicana Field may increase.

‘Hmm, that could be. If she’s a young politician, she’ll be quick to sense the change.’

If the number of spectators increases, the Tampa Bay Rays would no longer have a reason to be called a ‘tax-eating hippo’.

If more citizens visit Tropicana Field, the justification for building a new stadium would be established.

‘Could it be that she came to sense such a change?’ Ji-seop went out to meet the city councilor of St. Petersburg with a bit of expectation, but-

“Hello, Councilor.”

“Ah, hello.”

At the very moment Ji-seop faced the problematic Councilor Dana Sears, he was tilting his head slightly.

‘What… what’s going on?’

There was no other reason. It was because Sears’ attire that day was very casual.

It was okay to wear jeans and a T-shirt, but he didn’t expect her to show up with her long hair tied up roughly and wearing an old baseball cap.

‘What is it? Is this the image politics I’ve only heard about…? Trying to create a folksy image?’

Ji-seop was momentarily unsure how to react.

But that was only for a moment, and Ji-seop was able to grasp the reason for this strange attire.

[Damn it, what’s going on?]

26 years old this year.

The youngest city councilor of St. Petersburg’s inner thoughts.

[I was just going to come quietly and watch the Yankees game… If this happens, it’s no different from an official visit, is it?]

Her resentful gaze was directed at the aide standing next to her.

The aide, who received the gaze, couldn’t say anything and was sweating profusely.

A faint smile bloomed on Ji-seop’s lips as he saw all of this at a glance.

‘The person who visited Charlotte Sports Park today wasn’t a city councilor from St. Petersburg?’

A snowbird.

A passionate baseball fan who comes to the stadium to watch exhibition games.

Contrary to what is widely known, Councilor Dana Sears seemed to be quite fond of baseball.

Especially, the New York Yankees.

‘Hehe, is it better this way?’

A confident expression was already appearing on Ji-seop’s face.

He was uncomfortable with politicians. He doesn’t know how to treat them well.

But if it’s just someone who likes baseball, especially someone who likes the New York Yankees-

‘I’m ready, right?’

With his thoughts reaching this point, Ji-seop lightly cleared his throat and said this.

“Well, then, Councilor! Would you like to come this way?”

Councilor Dana Sears of St. Petersburg.

No, a snowbird who has come to Charlotte Sports Park.

Ji-seop’s plan to win her over was now beginning.